Speeches

It's a great honor to moderate this panel on the Framework and Priorities for the Post-2015 Development Agenda. I wanted to take a few moments at the start to introduce the panel and the panelists. We will be looking back over changes since the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were established, looking forward to the post-2015 goals, and even looking inward as we consider how we as governments, international organizations, civil society, and private companies can play our full and proper roles in this exercise.

Despite significant progress towards tuberculosis control in the past decade, this disease continues to be a major challenge to the health of communities around the world. In 2011- the latest year for which estimates are available - there were 8.7 million new cases of TB and 1.4 million people died as a result of their illness. In Cambodia alone, 61,000 people are estimated to suffer from TB each year. 9,000 of those will die annually.

The good news is that Cambodia has shown the world what can be achieved when countries apply a concerted and relentless effort to fight disease. This effort brought Cambodia a 45% decrease in prevalence of TB between the 2002 and 2011. That is astonishing! I would like to congratulate the Royal Government of Cambodia and all of you on this great achievement and for your contributions to global tuberculosis control.

I am so pleased to see the young people gathered here today. Your generation is particularly important to the cause we are here to discuss. It is a pleasure to join you today to commemorate World TB Day and emphasize this year's theme of stopping TB in our lifetime. A lifetime may seem long, but TB involves complex challenges and a lot of work.

About a year and a half ago, I traveled with Dr. Jill Biden and Dr. Bill Frist to the world’s largest refugee camp, 50 miles from the Somali border. In a camp originally built for one-fifth its capacity, I met mothers who had carried their children for weeks across famine-stricken lands and terrorist-held territories.

The famine had proven once again the power of extreme poverty, extreme climate, and extreme ideology to undermine security and create a moral catastrophe. About three weeks ago, I returned to the region and saw a very different picture.

It is a great pleasure to be here today at the opening ceremony of the 18th Annual Tuberculosis Conference. I would like to thank CENAT for inviting me. USAID is following the progress made in TB control efforts in Cambodia with great interest and we are glad to be part of this important workshop.

Last year, we were extremely impressed to learn of the impact that years of TB control efforts have had in the country - documented by repeat prevalence surveys showing 45% decrease in TB prevalence in nine years. This is a remarkable achievement and Cambodia is being applauded worldwide for this success, and we, USAID, is very proud to have contributed to this achievement.

We know also that momentum needs to be sustained for many more years, even decades, to reach the ultimate goal of eliminating TB as a public health problem by 2050. It is with that goal that we need to continue our relentless efforts in the coming years.

It is a great pleasure to have this opportunity to speak to U.N. Special Representatives, Department of Peacekeeping Operations officials, and members of the U.N. Mediation Support Unit on the role of women in international peace and security issues. I salute your dedicated efforts to end armed conflict around the world and lay the groundwork for restoring peace, security, strong economies and democratic governance. If the name were not already taken, I would re-name the people in this room, the “Peace Corps.”

HANOI, March 14, 2013 -- It is my pleasure to join you today in launching the annual Provincial Competitiveness Index report for 2012. This event marks the eighth year of collaboration between the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the U.S. Agency for International Development in helping to improve economic governance and competitiveness across the country.

I am truly honored to be here today with so many courageous and accomplished women and men from around the world who will be talking from their experiences, their research, their lives. SAID has organized a rich and thought-provoking day. I’d like to get us started by affirming and underlining that, in the field of international development, there is no longer any question that the advancement of women, attention to gender issues and an inclusive approach is not only vital to protecting fundamental human rights, but also to meeting our overall development goals. And for building greater peace and security worldwide. The evidence base is clear: we cannot get there if we leave women behind. Today I’d like to talk to you about three areas that I have the privilege to work in, where this is unquestionably the case, starting with economic inclusion.

Thank you to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and to His Excellency Mahboub Maalim for hosting us today in Addis Ababa and to the IGAD team for organizing this today. It is a sincere pleasure to be back with you again this week under more hopeful circumstances to take stock of just how far we’ve come.